@@toreropalido he knows where he's going and the band keep moving, like composition all the way, the art of making improvisation non-improvisation, or non-improvisation, improvisation. Running through trees blindfold, this is the way, the speed of change.
This band live is so much better than the studio versions. I have the VHS, LOL, 2 drum videos Dennis did in 92' and it had live in studio performances with this band. Pick Hits Live is an insanely good live album, same lineup. Scofield is so damn original... Love the first tune, 'Protocal' ,Dark bluesy, heavy and mysterious....Blue Matter is beautiful,funky and bluesy and heh, Jazz/Fusion! Incredibly talented 80's original Fusion. Cool grooves, Jazz chords and phat funky bass lines and amazing improvisation. Pure music expression, composing @ the moment. Each musician engaged in conversation with one another. Jazz is an amazing gift passed down by the true Giants. Many of my heroes are standing on the shoulders of these Giants of Jazz.(Steve Smith) This band was so tight and relaxed and groovin' HARD and swingin' all at once!!!!🤣😂🥺🥺 Goosebumps!!
Incredible chemistry, IMO this is one of Blue Matter Band's best live gig Ive heard amazing their highness on 'Loud Jazz' and some of Jim Beard's greatest playing I've heard.
One of his best for sure and IMO his best 1980s album, compositionally and also improvisations are top notch and the band - Don Grolnick, Darryl Jones and Omar Hakim are a perfect match.
THANK you so much for posting this. I discovered Scofield shortly after high school..I think it was the Still Warm album. This band right here, though, is what really pulled me away from listening to Led Zep, Rush, etc and lead me into jazz, etc. Really changed my life and opened my ears. I still get goose bumps from it. Dennis at the real height of his powers here.
DUDE! You too?! I was into metal and especially Rush in the 80’s - why? Because they were playing real instruments. Then one day one of my friends had me listen to Omar Hakim on John’s Still Warm album…. I was blown away! John Scofield then comes to town and I’m expecting to see Omar on drums, but he was getting ready to tour with Sting. So Dennis gets on stage - WHO IS THIS GUY?! That lasted for about 5 minutes (due to John’s solo intro)…. OMG - the whole crowd was blown away. Saw them like 4-5 times after that… incredible
I was happy to get the chance to record this concert from german tv "eins plus" in vhs. It was a great pleasure for years and it is a REAL TREASURE!!. Now I am happy to get this here. John Scofield, Jim Beard, Dennis Chambers....a (very) great moment of jazz playing and interaction....
my first sco show was right around this time, maybe '87. it was at the great american music hall in san francisco (tons of great shows there). i remember how dennis chambers looked like he was part of the drum kit, a sort of man/machine interface. he just slaughters the skins, so badass. and gary grainger, epic. i've seen sco maybe ten times or so, and this era was a fave, but all eras are great. there's this amazing evolving tapestry that is his career, where you can see little bits of each album just preceding and just following the current one. and throughout there is always the signature sco twang. fuck yeah sco! i wrote a paper about him for a class in college, and i named my surfboard after him (it was a bill stewart--no relation--board!).
I wish I knew about this back in '88! I was in the fifth grade and listing to Metallica and Guns and Roses, a little grease ball with long hair already playing guitar and jumping bikes off of homemade ramps. No worries, but it would have been nice to have the youtube way back when. These kids today are too busy sexting with their teachers or playing online farming games to even give a damn. Respect!
love this comment, so self-aware, and funny. i'm just enough years older that i was lucky to catch this period of sco's career (as a high schooler). glad you eventually found your way through the metal haze to the mastery of sco.
Ahhhh. When it was cool to enjoyyyyyy fantastic artistry. Look at this crowd. Diverse and all there for one thing. To STFU AND ENJOY AND APPLAUD. Gone are thise days.
Thank you so much for uploading this - it's opened up a whole new world of guitar hero to explore (the musicians are all top of their game, and Dennis is simply awesome, as always) :)
2 Years and 1 day after I Performed "Licorise" Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra by Bjorn Howard Kruse in the Old Much Museum In Oslo conducted by Geir Tore Larsen.
This must have been one of the last gigs with this band as I saw him a year later in Birmingham UK at the Adrian Boult Hall with Joe Lovano. I remember him leaving his guitar on stage during the interval.
No man, tell me it's not true... I just learned of Jim Beard's passing yesterday and it made me so sad. This is too much sadness in less than a day. PS - I tried to Google your news and couldnt' find anything, are you absolutely sure? Here's a link to Gary playing very recently, I thought he looked in excellent health - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RJByNMsGavg.html
Now that I have finally listened and watched several of John's music video's I have formed an opinion. His playing sounds convoluted to me, all mixed up and all over the place. So, I actually don't like listening to him play. I give him that he is different and original in his style but it's just not for me. -Peter 72
